Justice: Reflections
by TheSonicGamer
Summary: On their way to the borders of the Alpha Quadrant, Q makes an unwanted visit. He forces a test unlike any other on the crew of the Justice, making Velma and So'Gam reflect on what they value about Starfleet and the Federation the most. What is every person truly capable of?


Authors Notes: Finally, the title of the newest story is revealed! Welcome to Justice: Reflections. This one is going to be an interesting one. No big space battles (Not yet...the final details of this story are still being sorted out), not too much technobabble...This time, it's all about the characters. I hope this comes out as amusing and interesting as I think it is. Of course, Star Trek is all owned by CBS and Paramount. Rated T...or M...not sure how dark I'm gonna go with this, but Star Trek has always been a light hearted, fun experience, I'm not gonna go all Nemesis on you. Without further ado...Justice: Reflections.

Star Trek: Justice

Reflections

Chapter 1

The Test

2413

It had started off like any other day.

"Let's do something stupid!"

Jil'eesa was in her room preparing her uniform. She had just finished adjusting her pips, signifying her rank as lieutenant, when Velma barged into her room, uttering that statement. She was starting to regret allowing Velma access to her room like this in case of an emergency.

This was becoming routine. While Jil'eesa was mostly unfazed by the events from last year, Velma had taken to such optimism for her career in Starfleet that it even made other humans attempt to calm her down. She would do research for a day, an entire day, with no interruptions, and then take the next day off to socialize with the crew. She was learning as much as she could in her own fields and in others. Those who had just recently graduated from the Academy knew this routine well. She was preparing for the day she'd become a Captain.

Of course, even throughout her mission to better herself in preparation for the title she wanted, she never forgot to spend time with her friends. In fact, she somehow found more time to do so. For Jil'eesa, that time was about an hour before they went on bridge duty. They had been spending a lot of time in the Holodeck, bringing up a series of programs that had no connection with one another. One time they reenacted one of Sherlock Holmes's mystery cases after having read of former Enterprise Captain Data's love of Doyle's works. Another time, Velma brought up a graphic novel turned holonovel in the form of the Justice League in an attempt to better answer Jil'eesa's questions from last year. Other times, Velma really justified her use of the word 'stupid'. Bungee jumping, space jumping, flying small escort ships at incredible speeds, fighting Klingons and Gorn. Velma was sure that safety precautions were on, but they were still exhilarating activities she felt she had to experience at some point.

"Well, maybe not really stupid." Velma said as they walked down the corridor towards the holodecks. "But educational. I'm going to bring up a reenactment of one of Kirk's adventures."

"You do realize that many holonovels of Kirk's incursions into the Alpha Quadrant are highly dramatized." Jil'eesa said. It was a half-hearted attempt at dissuading her from today's visit to the holodeck. "They contain several inaccuracies, such as confusing phasers with photon torpedoes and Kirk's…odd speech patterns."

"I found a program made by an education department that isn't so worried about ratings. It's about as accurate as it's going to get, I promise."

* * *

When she first heard it, Velma hated the constant beeping sounds of the Constitution-class bridge. As time went on, however, it began to grow on her. This time period, along with decades before the founding of the Federation, intrigued her the most. She had set the holodeck on observation mode, allowing them to stand and watch the events unfold without being noticed.

"…You and I are of a kind." The Romulan on the Enterprise view screen said sadly. "In a different reality, I could have called you friend…"

"That last statement sounds familiar." Jil'eesa noted.

"Yeah, it does…but I can't place a finger on it now. Let's just keep watching."

The entire bridge suddenly flickered. An odd event, considering there was no reason for it to happen. Jil'eesa raised an eyebrow. "Did you see that?"

"I did. Weird. Maybe there's something wrong with the holodeck system."

Suddenly, the image shifted. The bridge looked completely different now. Velma looked around at all the changes. This wasn't the Enterprise she knew. Most of the consoles, the walls and the roof were white. The men and women they had been watching, Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Sulu, suddenly looked…younger. Slightly different.

Kirk, who had been standing up, took a seat in the Captain's chair. "Maximum warp, Mister Sulu. Punch it."

Velma looked at the view screen. The space around them seemed to stretch out before the Enterprise went into warp.

"Is the holodeck still malfunctioning? None of this appears to be accurate." Jil'eesa said.

"I know, right? And…what's with all the…lens flare?" Velma asked, her arm up, protecting her eyes from the various lights.

Kirk turned to look at them both. "You think this is weird?"

The holodeck suddenly shut down, leaving Velma and Jil'eesa alone in the empty room.

Velma looked around the room for any obvious answer to what was going on. "We should get Mi'key down here to see if he can take a look at-AH!"

Jil'eesa place her hands behind her back, as Vulcans liked to do. She didn't seem to have a problem with this turn of events, but she shared Velma's curiosity for wanting to know what was happening.

Velma quickly tried to cover herself with her arms. "We're naked!" She yelled out.

"Yes, I am aware of that." Jil'eesa responded calmly. "Our clothes were not photonic. This goes beyond a simple holodeck malfunction. We need to investigate."

"After we find some damn clothes!" Velma said. "Computer, dress us in photonic clothing, standard Federation uniforms, and then open the holodeck doors." She thanked the stars when no malfunction occurred this time, photonic clothing covering their bodies.

"We cannot take photonic clothing out of the holodeck." Jil'eesa reminded her.

"I know, I know! I just want to see if there's something walking by who can run and get us some clothing. I have a really bad feeling about all of this…"

* * *

They were fortunate that a female ensign walked by and, after explaining the situation to her, had clothes retrieved for them. Both Velma and Jil'eesa made a beeline to their quarters, dressing up again and hoping that their clothes wouldn't magically disappear again.

Velma and Jil'eesa met up at the turbolift that would take them to the bridge.

"Hey, wait up!" They heard a female voice behind them say as the turbolift doors slid open. It was Yoana's voice. Velma turned around to look at them and she gasped.

Yoana was with Mi'key. At least…Velma was sure it was them. Their facial structures looked familiar, which was good, because if she didn't know what they looked like already, she wouldn't have recognized them.

Mi'key now looked like a Trill. Yoana looked like an Andorian. They had literally swapped species.

"This is ridiculous, what the hell is going on?!" Velma yelled.

"Believe me, I'd really like to know myself." Mi'key replied. "I miss my antennae."

* * *

Velma did not want to know what other surprises she'd find when she got up to the bridge. She was relieved when she stepped out of the turbolift and everyone seemed normal. Vi'cky was at the Captain's chair.

"Commander, something is happening on this ship, we need to figure out what it us."

Vi'cky looked back at them, and for the second time that morning, Velma gasped. Then she struggled to hold in her chuckling.

Vi'cky had a mustache. A very visible, black, human mustache on her lips.

"Don't even think about commenting on it." Vi'cky said sternly. "We have weird stuff happening all over the ship, so just get to your consoles and work."

"Yes, ma'am." Velma simply said, taking her station. Before she got to work, though, she looked back at her again. "And the Captain?"

At that moment, someone stepped out of So'Gam's ready room. Everyone turned their heads to look at what had to be the most surprising thing.

It was Spock, dressed in the iconic red uniform from Admiral Kirk's time. He walked over to his chair, the bridge completely silent.

Velma finally broke the silence. "Spock?...So'Gam, is that you?"

Spock raised his hand up, giving the Vulcan salute to her. "I have been, and always shall be your friend." He said in Spock's voice. "But nothing about this is right, and I believe I know the culprit."

"Really? It took you people that long to figure it out? You think some other random entity floating out there in space is having fun making women's clothing disappear?"

In a white flash, a young man in a Starfleet uniform appeared, his hair still messy, the same as the last time they saw him. Q.

"Oh, by the stars, not him again…" Velma said, face palming.

"I missed you, too!" Q said affectionately. "Wasn't my last visit fun? I know I said I'd leave you all alone, but about two fifths of a nanosecond after I left, I got…bored. So I decided to return."

"Return us back to normal." Spock demanded.

"But don't you people like it better this way?" Q asked as he walked around the bridge. He stopped in front of Mi'key. "Like you, for example. You want to get to know your little girlfriend more, right? What better way than to walk in her shoes for a day and be a trill? I'm sure she's getting just as much of an education being Andorian."

"I am not amused…" Mi'key deadpanned.

Q ignored this and moved on to Vi'cky.

"…Why a mustache?" Vi'cky asked him.

"Riker had a mustache. I thought that's what made him such a 'great'…" He raised his hands up to gesture some air quotes. "…first officer! I thought it would help you out. Unless you want me to give you a tattoo on your face instead. Or turn you into a Bajoran Major."

"Change us back…now…." Spock demanded again.

"Not even going ask about your change? I'm hurt, I thought you'd appreciate it, for whatever reason. In truth, I just can't tell you Vulcans apart anyway, why not make you the most famous one? It's not like the original is around anymore, he's…well, I can't go into that now."

"And what did you do to Car'los?" Vi'cky asked.

Q shrugged his shoulders. He looked almost hurt at the accusation. "Absolutely nothing. I like Car'los, he…doesn't do much to stand out. You people should pay more attention to him. So underutilized. This SonicGamer is obviously a hack writer."

"Who is he talking about?" Velma asked.

"Q!" Spock yelled.

"Oh, fine, fine, all right!" Q snapped his fingers, everyone finally returning to normal.

So'Gam sat back down in his chair. "Q, I thought I made it clear that I did not want to see you on this ship again. You were not to return."

"But I'm not here to torment you, I'm here to entertain you!" Q insisted. "You're out here, all alone and so far away from a Starbase, I thought you'd need something to boost morale around here. It'd give me something to do for the next 20 years, anyway. That's how long these ships are usually in service, right?"

"Such services are not required." So'Gam said. "Now leave."

"Or what?...you'll call Starfleet? Your precious Federation? Come on, you need entertainment, those holodecks are so boring anyway."

"Is that why you caused those malfunctions and took away our clothing?" Velma asked angrily.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, you misunderstand…see, that was only meant to be entertaining to me."

"I find it unlikely that a Q would bother with entertaining life forms he finds to be primitive." So'Gam reasoned.

"Well, sure, but…but…fiiiine, you win. I haven't been entirely honest about why I'm here…"

"Then what is the purpose of this visit?"

"To stop you from venturing any further into the Galaxy." Q snapped his fingers again, never a good sign.

"Captain, the warp core just shut down completely, we've dropped out of warp!" Car'los reported over the comm.

"Why did you stop my ship?"

"I just told you, So'Gam, maybe you should pay more attention. I can't allow your primitive, dangerous species to further contaminate the galaxy. None of your species are ready, and certainly not your Federation. So, if you'll just get on your knees and beg nicely, I'll send each of you back to your home worlds."

"You cannot do such a thing. You do not have the right, even as a Q." So'Gam said. "Picard proved long ago that humans are ready to explore the cosmos. I believe the other races of the Federation are also prepared."

"That was another time and another Q." Q said. "This time, it's based on my judgment."

"We have done the best we can. Was there no way for us to succeed from the start? Is there not anything we can do to prove ourselves?"

"You just had to go and say that, didn't you?" Q said, crossing his arms. "Very well, there is a test you can take to prove that your Federation is ready to explore the Delta Quadrant…it's a very simple test, but I doubt you primitives will be able to pass it."

"What is it?"

"Well, I'll have to relocate your ship first…" Q said, snapping his fingers. The white flash appeared on the view screen, but nothing seemed to change. They were still in space.

"The test is simple. Convince the captain of the ship you are about to encounter of the good the Federation can bring to the Galaxy. Once the captain agrees, I will know and automatically bring you back and allow you to continue. Good luck, and try not to die in the process!"

Q disappeared, leaving the Justice and the crew to its own devices.

"Report, Yoana. What is our current position?"

"Scanners indicate we're in the same position we dropped out of warp from. I don't think he actually took us anywhere."

"I doubt the Q are capable of making mistakes." So'Gam said.

"Wait…something's come up on scanners. It's a ship, on a course to intercept us in 20 seconds."

"That has to be the ship Q was talking about." Velma said. "What species is it? Maybe this test won't be so hard after all."

"Stand by…it's a Starfleet ship. Odyssey class."

"Why would Q want us to convince one of our own about the Federation?" Mi'key asked.

"Captain, I only said it was a Starfleet ship because of the type of ship it is. The transponder isn't of Starfleet origin."

"On screen."

Sure enough, a ship nearly identical to the Justice dropped out of warp. There was a slight difference in color, some strips of yellow on the hull.

"Stand by, Captain…" Yoana said. "…N.C.C…91888-D…I.S.S Injustice…"

Everyone on the bridged looked confused by what they saw. So'Gam clutched his seat, however. He knew exactly where they were now.

"The Mirror Universe…" He said.

"The what?" Velma asked.

"Hail that ship, Commander. See if they respond."

"Hailing, sir…"

The image popped up on the view screen. A nearly identical bridge to theirs. Some of the people were the same, some weren't. The uniform was slightly different. Some of them had visible knives on them next to their phasers. The women wore tops that showed off their midriffs.

What surprised Velma the most, however, was the person sitting in the Captain's chair.

It was her.

"This is Admiral So'Gam of the Federation Starship Justice." So'Gam greeted her.

The Velma on the Injustice grinned confidently as she stood up.

"This is Captain Velma of the Terran Imperial Starship Injustice." She said proudly. The Velma on the Justice couldn't peel her eyes off what she was seeing.

This wasn't good. So'Gam had hoped that his counterpart in the Mirror Universe was still in command of the ship. Perhaps they could have agreed on the basic principles of logic, and from there come to the conclusion that the Federation was inevitable. That would no longer appear to be the case.

"Where is So'Gam?" So'Gam asked.

Velma waited a few moments, looking around the bridge, as if she was expecting them to listen carefully to her answer.

"…So'Gam is dead."

Next time on Justice: Reflections

Chapter 2

Mirrored


End file.
